Foodways: Crops of the African American Diaspora

February 1 to 28, 2025
Online & At the Garden
Black History Month at NYBG spotlights the far-reaching botanical legacy of the African Diaspora—and the myriad ways American history is defined by Black history. Get to know storied pioneers in environmental science and agriculture, and make household names of today’s activists building communities around representation, identity, and diversity. With thoughtful conversations on the calendar, plus looks back at talks and events from the last year, you’ll see how the Black experience—from gardening and science to arts and culture—has shaped our relationship with plants.
Above: NYBG planted its first African American Garden in 2022. As a protector of the garden, and to celebrate ancestors, a traditional African American bottle tree was among its special features.
This wide-ranging series of interviews, begun in February 2022, continues as Arvolyn Hill, Associate Director of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, speaks with Black people in the plant world. From herbalists and houseplant enthusiasts to farmers and gardeners, listen and learn how they are using plants as a powerful expression of liberation and freedom.
Watch NYBG’s Teen Explainers discuss Edmond Albius’s history-changing discovery of the Vanilla Orchid while touring vanilla plants in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and pressed specimens from the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium.
Enjoy programs from 2024 that examine culture and identity, including the vital role of food traditions—especially when cultural heritage or languages have been prohibited and erased.
Supported by generous funding from the Mellon Foundation, the New York Botanical Garden planted three African American Gardens between 2022 and 2024, each telling different stories of the African American experience through plants. All three gardens were curated by NYBG Trustee Dr. Jessica B. Harris, America’s leading scholar on the food and foodways of the African Diaspora.
Learn about the contributions of Black scientists and Garden staff to our understanding of the plant world, the rich legacy of plants and knowledge about their uses that enslaved Africans brought to America, and other plant stories.
LuEsther T. Mertz Library
Tuesdays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For Black History Month, we honor the accomplishments of African American workers at NYBG from the 1930s through 1950s. Visit the Mertz Library during your visit to see the archival materials of Hidden Figures at NYBG on display.